Seven Sages (Ocarina of Time)
The Seven Sages are a group from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Powerful allies of Link, they help seal Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm. The sages who give Link the Six Medallions each represent the six races of Hyrule: Hylian, Kokiri, Goron, Zora, Sheikah and Gerudo. Sages Princess Zelda, Leader of the Sages As Leader of the Sages, Zelda is a key figure throughout the game. As a child, Link meets Zelda in Hyrule Castle after traveling there at the behest of the dying Great Deku Tree. Having already obtained the Kokiri's Emerald, the first of three Spiritual Stones needed to open the door to the Sacred Realm, Zelda convinces Link to search for the other two, as she believes the Gerudo thief Ganondorf, who is pledging alliance to her father, the King of Hyrule, to be a great evil who seeks to rule Hyrule. The two agree to obtain all three stones and open the Door of Time by playing the Ocarina of Time in the Temple of Time, and beat Ganondorf to the Triforce hidden within. Upon obtaining the final stone, Link travels to Hyrule Castle only to discover Zelda escaping from the castle with her nursemaid Impa. She manages to throw the Ocarina of Time into the castle town's moat before disappearing out of sight. While Ganondorf chases after them on his horse, Link opens the door to the Sacred Realm. However, Link was considered to be too young to wield the Master Sword, and is therefore sealed within the Chamber of Sages in the center of the Sacred Realm for seven years. Seeing his chance, Ganondorf manages to get his hands on the sacred Triforce. However, due to the lack of balance of wisdom, courage, and power in Ganondorf, it broke into its three component parts (power, wisdom, courage) in his hands. Ganondorf kept the Triforce of Power, dearest to his heart, and the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage are given to Zelda and Link, who were "chosen by fate". Link awakens seven years later to find Hyrule in ruin. Ganondorf, while not attaining ultimate power from the Triforce, has used the Triforce of Power to destroy the once bountiful land of Hyrule and crown himself King of Evil. Link is given the task to awaken the six sages in order to enter Ganon's Castle and defeat Ganondorf. After receiving the first of the Six Medallions, Link meets Sheik, seemingly a descendant of the mysterious Sheikah race. Sheik gives him advice, in a mysterious fashion, throughout his quest. After awakening the five other sages, Link meets Sheik again in the Temple of Time, where she is revealed to be Princess Zelda in disguise. After Zelda explains her story to Link and gives him the Light Arrows, Ganondorf interrupts and imprisons Zelda in a crystal cage. He then challenges Link to meet him in his castle. Link battles Ganondorf, and ultimately defeats him, allowing Zelda and the other Six Sages to seal him away. After the battle is over, Zelda sends Link to his childhood, which causes him to live a regret-filled life due to not being remembered a hero — leading to his becoming the Hero's Shade in the world of the Ghostly Ether postmortem. Rauru, Sage of Light The Sage of Light ' first reveals himself to Link in the Temple of Light when Link awakens from his seven year slumber. Rauru explains the chaos that Ganondorf has wrought, and why Link was sealed away after retrieving the Master Sword. After he tells Link about the quest he must undertake to defeat Ganondorf, he gives him the Light Medallion. Rauru appears again in a vision after Link has gathered the final Medallion. He tells him that "someone is waiting for him" in the Temple of Time. Link travels to the temple and meets Sheik, who later reveals herself to be Zelda. Rauru is one of only two sages, the other being Zelda, who is not awakened by beating a dungeon. Saria, Sage of Forest The ' , Saria is hinted at to be a point of interest, after leaving the Temple of Time, by Navi. Before Link can do anything, however, he must visit Kakariko Graveyard and enter Dampé's Grave to win the Hookshot, a necessary tool for entering every temple. Upon playing "Saria's Song" on the Ocarina of Time, Link speaks to Saria and learns of the condition Ganondorf has inflicted upon Kokiri Forest. Link travels to the forest, where he sees for himself the damage done. He travels through the Lost Woods and encounters Sheik, who teaches him the "Minuet of Forest", a song that transports the player to the Sacred Forest Meadow. After defeating Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple, Saria awakens as the Sage of Forest, and grants Link the Forest Medallion. If Link should talk to Mido, anytime after playing "Saria's Song" for him, he will say Saria liked Link, possibly to the point of love. Darunia, Sage of Fire The Darunia has disappeared after Link's seven-year slumber. After meeting Darunia's son in Goron City, Link learns about the dragon, Volvagia, and Ganondorf's plans to feed Gorons to it. Link obtains the Goron Tunic from Darunia's son, Link of the Gorons, and enters Death Mountain Crater, no longer subject to the deathly heat radiating inside. Link once again meets Sheik, who teaches him the "Bolero of Fire", a song that transports Link to Death Mountain Crater. After entering the Fire Temple, Link meets Darunia who explains the predicament. He enters the sealed boss room, and leaves Link to explore the temple himself. Link eventually discovers Volvagia and slays him, revealing Darunia to be the Sage of Fire in the process, who gives Link the Fire Medallion. Princess Ruto, Sage of Water The Princess Ruto is nowhere to be found, as nearly all of Zora's Domain has been frozen over. Even King Zora XVI has befallen this terrible fate. Link explores the Ice Cavern in Zora's Fountain, and gains the Iron Boots along with Blue Fire necessary to unfreeze the King. Before that, however, Sheik appears inside the cavern and teaches Link the "Serenade of Water", a song that warps him to Lake Hylia. Link defrosts the King, who is grateful, and gives Link the Zora Tunic, which will let him breathe indefinitely underwater. Paired with the Iron Boots, Link successfully enters the underwater Water Temple, where he finds his "fiancée", Princess Ruto. She explains how the monster inside the temple froze Zora's Domain, and how to raise and lower the water levels in the temple. After exploring, Link encounters Dark Link, an alternate form of himself. Upon defeating him, Link obtains the Longshot, and enters the boss lair. Link destroys Morpha, the power behind the temple, and Ruto awakens as the Sage of Water and gives Link the Water Medallion. Impa, Sage of Shadow The Sage of Shadow, Impa, is a Sheikah that disappeared with the child Zelda during the start of Ganondorf's reign. Link goes to Kakariko Village, where he sees the town in flames. Thankfully, it begins raining; however, a monster escapes from the Bottom of the Well in the village. Link tries to stop the monster; however, he is knocked unconscious. Sheik tends to him, and teaches him the song necessary to enter the Shadow Temple: the "Nocturne of Shadow". Sheik also explains that Impa, the previous slayer of the monster, has entered the temple to try to seal it up again. Going back in time, Link finds the Lens of Truth at the newly vacated Bottom of the Well. Returning to his adult self, Link enters the Shadow Temple and defeats the monster Bongo Bongo. Impa awakens as the Sage of Shadow, and Link is granted the Shadow Medallion. Nabooru, Sage of Spirit The , Nabooru, is a Gerudo thief that has gone to find treasure from the Spirit Temple. Link frees the trapped Carpenters from the Gerudo's Fortress, and gains entrance to the Haunted Wasteland. After crossing the River of Sand, and following the Phantom Guide, Link is at the entrance of the Desert Colossus, the home of the Spirit Temple. Link enters the temple, only to find it unexplorable. After leaving the temple, Sheik appears from above and teaches Link the "Requiem of Spirit", and advises him to travel back in time to explore the Spirit Temple. Upon doing so, Link is able to meet Nabooru, who is looking for the Silver Gauntlets. Link agrees to help, and he explores half of the temple, eventually stumbling upon the Silver Gauntlets. Before he can return them to Nabooru, however, she is attacked by the twin witches who inhabit the temple, Koume and Kotake. As her last words, she tells Link to defeat the evil sisters. Now able to explore all of the temple, Adult Link eventually finds himself up against a possessed Nabooru masquerading as an Iron Knuckle. She is defeated, and no longer brainwashed, so Link confronts the evil witch sisters. With the use of his Mirror Shield, Link forces the sisters to attack each other, and he finally absorbs their attacks and defeats them. Nabooru awakens as the Sage of Spirit, and Link is awarded his final Medallion, the Spirit Medallion. Other appearances The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Though the Seven Sages never appear or are mentioned in The Wind Waker, seven stained glass windows in the basement of Hyrule Castle depict each member of the Seven Sages. The fact that they did not take away Ganon's Triforce piece, along with how they used a seal on him which eventually broke, means they are also partially responsible for the tragedy of the Great Flood. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass On the Isle of the Dead in Phantom Hourglass, a graveyard can be found that includes graves for the Six Sages and three other people. It is unlikely that they are the same people however, as the game mostly takes place in the Ocean King's world. Theories Sage of Time While six of the Seven Sages are each associated with an element of sorts, Princess Zelda was named only as the Leader of the Sages. Some speculate that Princess Zelda could be the Sage of Time. Reasons behind this theory include: * The Temple of Time's close proximity to Hyrule Castle during the events of Ocarina of Time (each Sage lived near their respective temples). * Zelda's ability to send Link seven years to the past in the Child Timeline at the end using the Ocarina of Time. * Zelda's apparent alignment with Nayru, the Goddess long associated with the establishment of the laws of science and nature, including time; it has been suggested that she is the Goddess of Time spoken of by Zelda herself in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which Zelda entreated to protect and look after Link on his journey to Termina. * Zelda's revelation of her identity as the seventh Sage in the Temple of Time (along with the vision of her in the Temple of Time when she taught Link the Song of Time) suggests she has a connection to that particular temple; it is also curious to note that each Sage revealed their status as a Sage within their respective temples, again implying that Zelda is connected to the Temple of Time. Seven Wise Men The Seven Wise Men mentioned in the backstory of A Link to the Past are widely believed to be the Seven Sages due to a number of similarities, including the nature of their seal on the Dark World. The term "Wise Men" was a mistranslation of what would more accurately be called "Sages", and the term was replaced with "Seven Sages" in the Game Boy Advance port of the game. In an interview conducted at the time of Ocarina of Time's release, the game's character designer, Satoru Takizawa, and the game's script director, Toru Osawa, stated that the apparent Imprisoning War and the Seven Sages seen in Ocarina of Time are the same ones mentioned in A Link to the Past. Despite this, they and their descendants are all depicted as human. It was later confirmed in Hyrule Historia that the Seven Sages and the Seven Wise Men are indeed the same people. They could also be based on the Seven Wise Men of Greek mythology. Ancient Sages The Seven Sages, minus Princess Zelda, may be connected to the six Ancient Sages seen in Twilight Princess. It seems that these Sages may be the essences that entered the bodies of those Seven Sages in Ocarina of Time, causing their awakening as sages. It also seems that Rauru could be both an Ancient Sage and one of the Seven Sages. The Sages are Deceased Many believe the sages may have been killed before Link kills the bosses of their respective temples. Hints to this include when Mido responds that Saria is never coming back, Darunia being defeated by Volvagia, Ruto admitting that she cannot marry Link is in the temple and cannot return, etc. as well as the sages appear amongst themselves on a hill during the credits and not mingling with the other people. Adding to this the sages are not to be found until defeating the temple bosses and appearing in the Realm of Sages. Gallery File:Darunia Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Darunia from The Wind Waker File:Impa Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Impa from The Wind Waker File:Nabooru Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Nabooru from The Wind Waker File:Rauru Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Rauru from The Wind Waker File:Ruto Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Princess Ruto from The Wind Waker File:Saria Window.png|Stained-glass window depicting Saria from The Wind Waker See also * Ancient Sages * Sages of the Master Sword * Seven Maidens * [[Seven Sages (A Link Between Worlds)|Seven Sages (A Link Between Worlds)]] * Seven Wise Men es:Siete Sabios (Ocarina of Time) Category:Groups Category:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time characters Category:Sages